Truck May Have Been Racing Before Crash

By CLIFFORD J. LEVY

Published: September 8, 1992

Police investigators believe that a tow truck was drag racing at more than 80 miles an hour when it collided with a compact car in Brooklyn on Sunday morning, killing a 27-year-old woman, a law enforcement official said last night.

The official, who insisted on anonymity, said witnesses told the police that they saw two tow trucks from the same company, Sunset Auto Enterprises of Brooklyn, speeding through Sunset Park right before one truck slammed into a 1980 Datsun hatchback on Fourth Avenue at 34th Street.

"The indications were that the two trucks were drag racing," the official said. "Investigators determined from analysis of their skid marks that their speed was in excess of 80 miles an hour. The speed for a city street at that location is 30 miles an hour."

Alicia Sanmartin was killed in the accident, and her husband, Luis, their child and a nephew were injured. The police arrested the driver of the tow truck, 29-year-old Christopher R. Devita of Sunset Park, whose license had been suspended 50 times in seven years, state motor vehicle records show. His license is currently under suspension. Arraignment on Sunday

Mr. Devita was arraigned on Sunday night in Brooklyn Criminal Court on charges of second-degree manslaughter, first-degree reckless endangerment and third-degree assault, said Patrick Clark, a spokesman for Charles J. Hynes, the Brooklyn District Attorney. The manslaughter charge is punishable by a maximum prison term of 5 to 15 years.

Mr. Devita is being held at the Brooklyn House of Detention. He has not posted bail of $10,000 bond or $5,000 in cash, officials said.

Some of the suspensions on Mr. Devita's motor vehicle record appear to stem from his failure to appear in court to answer summonses, the police said. Investigators said they did not know why further action, like revoking his license, was not taken against him as the suspensions accumulated.

Officials at the state Department of Motor Vehicles could not be reached for comment on the case yesterday.